Police: Shooting suspect says he'll buy AK-47 for next time (updated)

Published: Sunday, June 9, 2013 at 10:47 PM.

A long night for Gaston County Police ended around 5 a.m. Monday when they captured a man who had been shooting at them throughout the night with a .357 magnum.

"We actually had to go in there and get him," Sgt. J.R. Rollins said Monday morning.

But while no one was injured in the overnight incident suspect James Morris Thomas, 52, of 111 Farnsworth Drive, uttered a warning to officers.

"Thomas stated to me at the jail he would buy an AK-47 so next time he could take (care) of things," according to a warrant affidavit written by Officer J.E. Hamrick.

The incident began around 8:40 p.m. Sunday and involved at least two different periods of shooting, one before 10 and the other around midnight, Rollins said. Officers fired tear gas into Thomas' trailer home, located between Cherryville and Kings Mountain. When the department's Emergency Response Team went in to the trailer home they found Thomas passed out, Rollins said.

The suspect was too impaired to stay at the jail so police took him to CaroMont Regional Medical Center, Rollins said.

The incident began with a domestic dispute, police said. At one point up to 30 Gaston County Police officers converged on the northwest Gaston County neighborhood. Police said Thomas was using a .357 magnum handgun to shoot at police cars and other property.

A long night for Gaston County Police ended around 5 a.m. Monday when they captured a man who had been shooting at them throughout the night with a .357 magnum.

"We actually had to go in there and get him," Sgt. J.R. Rollins said Monday morning.

But while no one was injured in the overnight incident suspect James Morris Thomas, 52, of 111 Farnsworth Drive, uttered a warning to officers.

"Thomas stated to me at the jail he would buy an AK-47 so next time he could take (care) of things," according to a warrant affidavit written by Officer J.E. Hamrick.

The incident began around 8:40 p.m. Sunday and involved at least two different periods of shooting, one before 10 and the other around midnight, Rollins said. Officers fired tear gas into Thomas' trailer home, located between Cherryville and Kings Mountain. When the department's Emergency Response Team went in to the trailer home they found Thomas passed out, Rollins said.

The suspect was too impaired to stay at the jail so police took him to CaroMont Regional Medical Center, Rollins said.

The incident began with a domestic dispute, police said. At one point up to 30 Gaston County Police officers converged on the northwest Gaston County neighborhood. Police said Thomas was using a .357 magnum handgun to shoot at police cars and other property.

No one was injured in the incident that lasted around eight hours, but police described it as extremely dangerous.

“It’s what we refer to as an active shooter,” Rollins said around 9:30 p.m. Sunday.

“It’s extremely dangerous,” Rollins added. “It doesn’t get any more serious than this.”

Police described the man as distraught over the break up with a woman who was either his wife or girlfriend.The man remained in his trailer home on the 100 block of Farnsworth Road, just a few miles outside of Cherryville, although police said it has a Kings Mountain address. Police had blocked off St. Mark’s Church Road in both directions and were asking people to dim their car lights as they turned around so as not to draw attention from the shooter.

The woman was with him when the incident began, but she was able to leave the home. Police were able to talk to him by telephone at different times during the incident.

A man living in a house just before the roadblock said he could hear the shots from inside his home where he was working.

Police have not gone door-to-door to take people from their homes, but performed a reverse 911 call and told people to take cover inside their homes and remain in safe locations, Rollins said.

Thomas is expected to face nine counts of assault with a dangerous weapon with intent to kill. Check back at gastongazette.com for updates to this story. Thomas does not have a record with Gaston County Jail so a mugshot was not immediately available.

You can reach Kevin Ellis at 704-869-1823 or twitter.com/TheGazetteKevin